lymetwister
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I posted yesterday how I started Mepron with Bactrim 2 x day.
The crying stuff is nothing compared to the Air Hunger I've been getting.
Was wondering if you could describe yours, as I want to make sure this is true air hunger and not just some Dysautonomia symptom.
So, what I've been getting are bouts where I'm blowing air with pursed lips and my cheeks fully puffed out in order to slow down my breathing. I seem to do this as an autonomic response as if I try and change up my breathing, I am hyperventilating with short breaths as if I'm gasping for air.
I don't have chest tightness with this, nor do I have anxiety, but I am kicking all around and can't sit still when I get this. Perhaps is just the feeling like I'm dying. I have been to the ER many times for shortness of breath last year, but I wasn't on Mepron or any Babs treatment until recently. Lungs, Blodd Gases, etc. are all normal.
I will try and make of video next time I get this so I can see if others can relate. I did test pos. for WA1, but since it was just the IGG and I never had night sweats we were never sure if I truly had Babs.
I also get exertionel shortness of breath too. Todays episode came less than an hour after my Mepron dosing. Gonna take a few days off so my true flu symptoms can resolve.
Appreciate any feedback...
Gary
** edited to remove dosage **
[ 12-28-2010, 10:23 PM: Message edited by: sixgoofykids ]
Posts: 1227 | From District of Columbia | Registered: Mar 2009
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quote:Originally posted by lymetwister: as if I try and change up my breathing, I am hyperventilating with short breaths as if I'm gasping for air.
I don't have chest tightness with this, nor do I have anxiety, but I am kicking all around and can't sit still when I get this.
Wow. Never thought about the squirming around in my seat aspect of trying to get a deep breath, but you described some of my symptoms here.
Often I'll feel like I need to make myself yawn in hopes of getting more oxygen. I shift around, leaning this way or that, and finally get a yawn and some relief.
My "air hunger" isn't anxiety either. I've had this for 40 yrs. minus two weeks.
For two weeks on Mepron with Biaxin, I was actually able to take full, deep breaths for the first time ever in my memory. It was amazing and beautiful. I felt more whole than ever. People who can take deep breaths are truly blessed with a glorious gift!
I'm back to the usual now since Biaxin caused more tinnitus than I wanted to live with.
I cannot take a deep, full breath ever. The air never goes down very far.
I experience a hundred little stabbing pains all around my rib cage; I guess it is the lungs themselves. The pains are tiny, like needle sticks, close together and below the pectorals.
I have always dreaded when someone suggests taking a deep breath to relax. Just gives me a twinge of anger because deep breaths are painful and not relaxing.
It's much worse if standing in a lake or pool in chest-deep water. The water pressure makes it even harder to pull oxygen into my lungs.
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seekhelp
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Remember, didn't you just state in the other thread you were symptom free for 7 years? Was this one symptom you didn't get rid of for real during that period?
Posts: 7545 | From The 5th Dimension - The Twilight Zone | Registered: Mar 2008
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I don't think I'd have said, "symptom free," but most of my LD symptoms left after heavy abx due to intestinal parasites.
I'd already been gluten-free with minimal dairy for yrs before that, and had Candida under control for the most part, so I'm sure diet helped.
For me, sx had been Lyme arthritis, fibromyalgia, fatigue, some cognitive slowing, colitis...
I ALWAYS had the deep breath problem, and no one ever seemed to care about it at all until my LLMD this year!
The air hunger never left until just for those 2 wks recently. And I cherish that experience!
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Gary, Check the side effects of all of your meds.
Some will state: Shortness of breath, difficulty breathing.
Even Malarone has "shortness of breath" as a side effect. So does Azithomycin.
Check side effects of all your meds before using them so you know what to look for when taking.
I never used to check the rx sheet that comes with the med. Then I got shortness of breath while on Malarone. Now, I check before taking a new med.
Posts: 671 | From Fort Myers, Florida | Registered: Jun 2009
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"Side Effects of Mepron - for the Consumer Mepron All medicines may cause side effects, but many people have no, or minor, side effects. Check with your doctor if any of these most COMMON side effects persist or become bothersome when using Mepron:
Diarrhea; difficulty sleeping; dizziness; headache; increased cough; increased sweating; indigestion; loss of appetite; muscle pain; nausea; runny or stuffy nose; stomach pain; vomiting; weakness.
Seek medical attention right away if any of these SEVERE side effects occur when using Mepron: Severe allergic reactions (rash; hives; itching; difficulty breathing ; tightness in the chest or throat; swelling of the mouth, face, lips, or tongue; unusual hoarseness); anxiety; change in the amount of urine produced; dark urine; depression; fever; flu-like symptoms; pale stools; red, swollen, blistered, or peeling skin; severe or persistent stomach pain; shortness of breath ; unusual bruising or bleeding; white patches in the mouth; yellowing of the eyes or skin".
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nefferdun
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I need to get a deep breath but it seems like my lungs will not expand enough. I keep trying to yawn. I will just keep trying to get that deep breath, become very squirmy and I will bend backwards trying to expand my chest.
When I finally get the breath I want, I hold it for a moment to keep the feeling as long as possible. Then I am feeling air hungry again. I just had bouts of it - not all the time.
I am on Mepron and not having the air hunger at all. It is a wonderful feeling to be able to breath normally.
As I have had bouts of air hunger most of my life I had no idea that I had babesia. I thought I was just hyperventilating. I think I was probably infected with babesia as a child. I never had any stamina either. I never had hot flashes or sweating though when I was a child.
-------------------- old joke: idiopathic means the patient is pathological and the the doctor is an idiot Posts: 4676 | From western Montana | Registered: Apr 2009
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seekhelp
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Nefferdun, what you describe with the yawning is EXACTLY what I have. It's horrible. You can't finish a yawn because you can't get enough breath. Posts: 7545 | From The 5th Dimension - The Twilight Zone | Registered: Mar 2008
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I "sigh" a lot. I frequently used to say to my husband before I became really ill, but post multiple tick bites, "it feels as if I don't breathe all day - that I'm holding my breath all day." Now I know why!
Posts: 618 | From NC | Registered: Oct 2009
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nefferdun & seekhelp, ditto for me, except for nefferdun's good result with Mepron now.
Does babesiosis make us more susceptible to pneumonia?
Does anyone know what's happening to the bottom of our lungs when we can only take shallow breaths every day?
nefferdun
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I have other problems going on but not the air hunger. When I have the feeling that I need a deep breath I feel a little anxious that I might not be able to fill my lungs. When I can, I have a thank you God moment - seriously.
Since I started writing this I have taken three deep breaths. I am so tired I can't do much of anything. Emotionally and physically I feel trapped but I can breath.
-------------------- old joke: idiopathic means the patient is pathological and the the doctor is an idiot Posts: 4676 | From western Montana | Registered: Apr 2009
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